Thursday, January 03, 2008

Top 6 Friday: The Alternative Movies of '08

Incoming blockbusters like Indy, Batman and Iron Man have been mentioned here a plenty and along with these, movies like the next Narnia and Harry Potter are in no need of pre publicity. My selection today is movies you may not have heard of, though nevertheless sound promising whether it be the talent or premise and all too often are the gems that restore our faith after the promise of the action laden trailers and huge budgets falls flat.

6. Where The Wild Things Are - we will be kept waiting for this one, it has an October release however you can't but be excited about the new Spike Jonze. Starring Catherine Keener, Benicio Del Toro, Forest Whitaker, Lauren Ambrose and Catherine O'Hara the film is an adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic children's story, where Max, a mischievous little boy, creates his own world - a forest in habited by fabulous wild creatures who crown Max as their ruler.

5. Fanboys - Starring Sam Huntington (superman Returns) and Kristen Bell (Heroes), I lilke the comedic potenial in the story of Star Wars fans travel to Skywalker Ranch to steal an early copy of Episode I: The Phantom Menace for their dying friend!

4. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Brad Pitt and David Fincher (Fight Club) reunite to tell the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with bizarre consequences.

3. I recently rewatched 'Monster House' a great little movie - its director has gone all live action on us in telling of 'City of Ember' where once powerful generator is failing, and the great lamps that illuminate the city are starting to flicker. The major selling point for me? - Bill Murray.

2. Surely the best line up of '08 - George Clooney, John Malkovich, Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton are directed by the Coen Brothers 'Burn After Reading' in a film about a disk containing the memoirs of a CIA agent ending up in the hands of two unscrupulous gym employees who attempt to sell it.

1. OK so I have previously mentioned the No. 1 entry but 'Be Kind, Rewind' just has too good a premise - A man (Jack Black) whose brain becomes magnetised unintentionally destroys every tape in his friend's video store. In order to satisfy the store's most loyal renter, an aging woman with signs of dementia, the two men set out to remake the lost films, which include Back to the Future, The Lion King, and RoboCop - and so too is directed by Michael Gondry who bought us 'Eternal Sunshine' and 'Science of Sleep'. I just don't think an 'alternative' choice of movies would be complete without its inclusion.